I play in a group of nine occasionally. We are always courteous to people who want to play through. I don't think we should be putting a maximum group size limit out there, especially on public courses- I think the problem lies more with etiquette. If you are slower than the group behind (regardless of numbers), always let them through as soon as possible.

It is also our responsibility to educate people to proper etiquette- maybe the OP could have asked the group if he could play through quickly. It takes a real douche to say no.

More frequent than the group who flat-out says no to a play-through request is the group who takes their time, throws multiple shots, and then hustles to get off the tee before the person behind them gets there.

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We have had a lot of positive comments on the secondary tee signs we put up at Blue Lake.

In addition to the actual tee sign we have another space where we've put things like...

* In the interest of speed of play, please keep group sizes to 5 or fewer players.
* Trash Barrels every few holes.. Pack it in Pack it out.
* We are guests in this neighborhood. Please conduct yourselves accordingly.
* This is an alcohol free park.

While this will obviously not work 100% of the time, it does inform people that what they might think is perfectly fine... is in fact... not perfectly fine. Passively informing people of the rules makes it a little easier to enforce those rules when necessary.

The best thing we all can do is lead by example, and politely educate new players. When I say politely, I really mean it. If we're not cordial when approaching people it will backfire on us 9 times
out of 10.

Jeff

Just played Blue Lake for the first time the other day and, yes, I love the "limit your groups to 5" sign (Is that on the 1st tee? It should be). That course would be horrible following a group of 9.

Related to the annoying large group, is the large group who lets you play though on a tee and you still have to wait for the group in front of them to finish the hole. One time, one of the guys in the group that let me play through told me to "go ahead and throw". I gave him the " Would you want to get hit by this (holding a Destroyer)?" / "You always let the group finish the hole" - lecture. That pissed me right off and I then proceeded to park the hole.

That being said, 90-95% of all folks I've run into have be overwhelmingly nice/chill/friendly, which is one of the reasons I love the sport.

It's not whether you've won or lost, it's how many beers you were driven to drink after you're done.

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I play quite a bit of 45 minute rounds during my hour long lunch breaks... when I come on a group, be it 2 or 12 players, I just ask "Hey would you guys mind if I throw this hole with you so I can get ahead?" I have always either been told "sure," or go ahead and play through... Basically be proactive.

Yeah, It's a ball golf article about the Gold Mountain course in Bremerton, WA. BUT... it shows the nature of "slow play" and how even with a huge staffing of dedicated paid marshals, it can still be tough to "keep it moving".

-interesting if you read it and substitute "Disc Golf" mentally into your reading. Then read the after article comments. You can't win!

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No, as long as they let you play through. We play in big groups quite often. But, its usually early and the courses are empty... If not we always let people play through.

How do you tell your buddy he cant join his friends? I havent figured it out

why not just break the group of 9 into 2 groups? that way you still get to play with friends; one group follows the other, so its still sort of like one big group; and you're not disrupting the flow and holding other people up.

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why not just break the group of 9 into 2 groups? that way you still get to play with friends; one group follows the other, so its still sort of like one big group; and you're not disrupting the flow and holding other people up.

We do that too Gary
A lot of the time it starts out as a group of 4-5, and people will join along the way, mostly at lunchtime. But an empty or near empty course, I dont see a problem playing in large groups. Of course, I wouldnt play in a big group on a busy day, with perfect weather, at say Pier(or anywhere) But a rainy day with 2 people on the course, or an early start with no cars in the parking lot... 8-10 easy!

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We do that too Gary
A lot of the time it starts out as a group of 4-5, and people will join along the way, mostly at lunchtime. But an empty or near empty course, I dont see a problem playing in large groups. Of course, I wouldnt play in a big group on a busy day, with perfect weather, at say Pier(or anywhere) But a rainy day with 2 people on the course, or an early start with no cars in the parking lot... 8-10 easy!

I'm with you on that, Dan. Of course one of the things we all really like about you DGOD guys (and gals) is that you love to play. and, of course, your particular understated brilliance in helping bring the disc golf community more together, I really appreciate.

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Yes....groups of 9 are annoying and detrimental to good course flow. Whether it's a gang of inexperienced one disc wonders who carry more beers than discs, who break branches for a better stance and throw at the back of your head or whether it'a a large group of competitive players who empty their bags on every hole then slowly discuss how they almost aced that hole in the last tournament while they each line up over their 3 foot putts for over two minutes and act indignant when a group of average players asks to play through.

Sadly, at our local courses, people rarely ask to play through. Groups immediately 'poach' holes to get ahead of slow play and end up creating more slow play.

I play our local public courses less than a handful of times each year outside of tournament play for this exact reason. It is just absolutely way too frustrating to endure. I would love to see some signage at our courses encouraging any kind of etiquette. I'll definitely bring it up with our club.

I'm very much in favor of clubs encouraging the development of 9 hole family pitch and putt courses, recreational 18 hole courses and finally 19-27 hole tournament courses. The club can then host events and clinics at the appropriate course for the appropriate audience set an expectation of skill level needed to move from course to course.

Disc golf is a wonderful sport and I'm thrilled it's growing. I just wish there was a bunny hill around here and the folks on the black diamonds would show more grace.

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At Pier most of the larger groups I run into are experienced tournament players. Chances are some of them post here. I think some of the recent disc golf issues I have heard about that plague courses are propagated by experienced players. Most of the time when I run into new players they are happy to hear about the basic etiquette as long as I am not preachy about it. I think there is a need for experienced players to take a moment and re-evaluate the image they really portray to non-experienced players.

I'm usually in and out of Pier by noon most days. I don't like crowds and do my best to avoid them.